A long day of baseball at Wong

By KEVIN JAKAHI

Tribue-Herald sports writer

The independent brotherhood are all chasing the dream — to get spotlighted by a Major League Baseball affiliate — Hawaii Stars and Na Koa Ikaika Maui alike, no matter the station in their life.

Ballplayers young or old, like aspiring Star outfielder Keoni Manago, 23, and Na Koa Ikaika pitcher Chad Blackwell, 29, hope to put up big numbers, get noticed by a MLB organization, and signed to a minor league affiliate.

Manago, who played for UH-Hilo from 2008 to ‘11, is standing at the first step of the ladder that leads to a life of playing pro ball for a living. The 2007 Roosevelt graduate is on a three-day contract. He does well he makes the team; he doesn’t and he goes back home to Oahu.

He batted 0 for 2, a flyout and lineout to third base, in Hawaii’s 2-0 loss to Maui in Game 1 of a North American Baseball League doubleheader on Friday at Wong Stadium.

Eri “Knuckle Princess” Yoshida (3-0, 3.20 ERA) is scheduled to start for Maui (12-9) today. Game time is 5:35 p.m. at Wong Stadium. Ronnie Loeffler (4-0, 3.81 ERA) is slated to start for Hawaii (9-12), which has lost five straight.

Manago is the single-season UHH leader in batting with a .439 average in 2009, facing Division II pitching in the Pacific West Conference. Former UHH second baseman Mike Higa, who played for Na Koa Ikaika, batted .407 against Division I competition in 2008.

The Stars left field candidate made the All-PacWest first team his last three years at UHH. He was the conference’s player of the year in 2009, and co-player of the year in ‘10. Manago was also the 2008 freshman of the year.

However, Manago, who last faced live pitching in UHH’s alumni game earlier this year, knows the only numbers that matter are those he puts up against Maui, which featured pitchers with glossy resumes.

Blackwell, who pitched a two-hitter in the 2-0 Game 1 victory, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth round in 2004 out of the University of South Carolina.

In the interminable Game 2, Na Koa Ikaika and the Stars were tied 1-1 after 12 innings. The marathon ended after the Tribune-Herald’s deadline.

The bottom of the 10th was defining and interesting. The Stars loaded the base with no outs, Maui reliever Mike Koon caught a line drive and threw to third for the second out. Arnoldo Ponce singled to right field but Mark Okano gunned down Anthony Lopez at home.

The non-hitting Stars are cold. They are bears without fur marooned somewhere in the North Pole’s ice. As a team, Hawaii is batting .227, last in the 10-member league.

Hawaii could use any type of hitting help, thus the trial offer to Manago. In Game 2, the designated hitter was Bryan Herrera, who’s normally a pitcher. He went 0 for 3, dipping the team batting average a tad lower.

“It feels good to get back into baseball. I was training on Oahu to try out for mainland (independent) teams,” said Manago, who graduated with a kinesiology degree in May. “My first at-bat, I didn’t have my timing. My second at-bat, I was more comfortable. I’m coming back slowly.

“If I don’t make it here, I want to keep trying. I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do to keep playing. My long-term goal is to get with a major league affiliate. For now, I’m keeping myself in shape and will continue to work hard for the Stars. Once I get my confidence back and get back into it, I’ll be fine.”

Victor Ferrante, who came on in relief in Game 2, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round in 2006. Manago went 0 for 1 against the hard-throwing right-hander, and 0 for 2 against starter Matt Walker, and 0 for 1 against Vinnie St. John, a 45th round pick of the Los Angeles in 2010.

In Game 2, Manago was 0 for 5, striking out against St. John, another pitcher with a rocket for a right arm, and closer Koons, a 2007 free agent signed by the Houston Astros.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum sits Blackwell, who distorts the notion that a pitcher must fit a certain prototype to be drafted. The right-hander with the slippery pitches isn’t 6 feet 2 and 210 pounds. He’s 5-11 and 155 pounds, probably on a good day, including a full breakfast.

“I went to good programs, Pensacola (Fla.) Community College and South Carolina, put up good numbers and everything paid off,” Blackwell said. “I was in the right spot at the right time.

“In the minors, it’s much different than pro ball. In college, you pitch three or four times a week. At the pros, you’re pitching every day. It’s a routine and everything is organized for you. You have to make sure you work hard every day, your off days and every offseason.”

He reached as high as Double-A with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007, a season after he was traded. But the middle part of the ‘07 season, he was released and got his first taste of independent ball with Gary of the Northern League.

“That was a tough situation. Once you get into an organization, they’re always letting guys go. It’s very much a business,” Blackwell said. “You have to perform every day, get your work in and make sure you show something. Sometimes, it’s just a domino effect and you can’t do anything about it.”

Blackwell then sandwiched stints between MLB affiliates and independent organizations the next few years, reaching Double-A again in 2009 while in the Texas Rangers farm system. The following season his life as a regular independent ballplayer started; Blackwell has been in indy ball since 2010.

Like the aspiring Manago, the dream is no different for Blackwell. He wants to get hooked up with a MLB affiliate. Blackwell also pointed out that playing in an independent league sure beats life as a working stiff.

“I haven’t set a time limit. I’ll keep playing as long as I can,” Blackwell said. “The nice thing about being an older guy is you can help the younger guys, and you can work with the other veterans and pick each other’s brains.

“It’s great to come over for the summer and play a game we all love.”

Game 1

Maui 000 100 1 — 2 9 0

Hawaii 000 000 0 — 0 2 1

Game 2

Maui 100 000 000 000 — 1 9 1 Hawaii 000 010 000 000 — 1 11 1